Category: Recommended

Our Decorated Gingerbread House product is part of our popular Gingerbread House product range which we launched in 2017. They make great gifts for clients, friends or family! You have the option to order it in traditional Festive Season colours or in a colour scheme of your choice. Please specify when you order!

What better way to kick off the Festive Season than with assembling and decorating your own Gingerbread House? It is a great culinary activity for kids and adults alike! We will provide everything you will need to assemble and decorate your very own Gingerbread House: pre-baked house panels, a cake board, royal icing, variety of candy, step-by-step instructions, etc.

If you prefer to assemble and decorate your Gingerbread House in the comfort of your own home or while on holiday, we also have Do-It-Yourself Gingerbread House Kits in a variety of sizes. They are great to give as a gift or for a fun culinary activity for the holidays. In our kit you’ll find everything you need to assemble and decorate a gingerbread house – from pre-baked gingerbread house panels, to royal icing, a variety of quality candy, easy-to-follow instructions, etc. Each kit is packed in a sturdy box and wrapped in gift wrap with a gift tag – i.e. ready to either be placed under the Christmas Tree or to pack on holiday!

The tradition of decorating Gingerbread Houses is over 1,000 years old! If you haven’t done it before, it is not too late to start a gingerbread house decorating tradition in your family or circle of friends. It is the perfect activity to spend quality time with your loved ones during the Festive Season while creating a Gingerbread House masterpiece! You can even turn it into a gingerbread house building contest if you prefer! It’s the perfect activity to keep kids and adults alike entertained during the long December holiday’s!

Get the creative juices flowing this Festive Season with Cooking Up A Storm’s DIY Gingerbread House Kits. Since it was launched in 2017, hundreds of children (and adults!) have been assembling and decorating our gingerbread houses with family, friends and colleagues. Our houses are so popular because they are freshly baked and have no added preservatives. They are also 100% South African! In our kit you’ll find everything you need to assemble and decorate a gingerbread house – from pre-baked gingerbread house panels, to royal icing, a variety of quality candy, easy-to-follow instructions, etc. Each kit is packed in a sturdy box and wrapped in gift wrap with a gift tag – i.e. ready to either be placed under the Christmas Tree or to pack on holiday.

Today is Heritage Day, also known as National Braai Day. South Africans country-wide are celebrating their cultural heritage by spending time with friends and love ones around a braai!. There are of course no rules when choosing what you are going to braai – whether it is tjops, wors, chicken, ribs, fish or fillet!. You can braai whatever lights your fire!

If you are worried about embarrassing yourself in front of your date, or even worse, a client, because you do not know the difference between the terms carpacchio, ceviche or crudo on a restaurant menu, don’t fear, the answers are here. Included in this post is basic info on some of the most popular restaurant options containing raw or partially cooked fish or seafood. After reading this, you will be able to navigate a restaurant menu like a pro. Not to mention using foodie lingo in conversations. Recipes containing raw fish or seafood can be prepared at home with great success, as long as the freshest and highest quality fish or shellfish is used. Be sure to read the post How To Handle Raw Fish before trying these recipes at home.

While raw fish may seem like a strange dinner choice for some, chefs around the world are constantly experimenting with new ways to include raw fish and seafood on restaurant menu’s. Read the post Raw Fish Is Delish! for basic info on the most popular recipes where raw or partially cooked fish is used. The photo’s are guaranteed to convince you to try it at least once!

A Poke bowl (pronounced PO-KEH) is a traditional Hawaiian dish. Although it has been around for decades, it is only about two years ago that is has become trendy world-wide. A traditional Hawaiian poke bowl consists of cubed raw fish, often tuna or salmon, which is seasoned with soy sauce and served on a bed of steamed sushi rice. The key is using high-quality fresh fish that’s meant to be eaten raw, i.e. sashimi grade.

Dragon fruit, also known as pitaya or strawberry pear, can be a little intimidating at first sight, but its bark is worse than its bite! The scaly outer skin of the dragon fruit, which looks similar to that of a pineapple, is not prickly and very easy to peel. Some say Dragon Fruit was given its name because it looks like the fiery flames coming from a dragon’s mouth!

The origins of hot cross buns may go back as far as the 12th century. There are several myths about these popular fruit-studded yeast-risen buns. One of the more well known stories is that an Anglican monk baked the buns and marked them with a cross in honor of Good Friday. At some point in history the buns was commonly known as Good Friday Buns. During the 1730s in Europe the buns were sold on the streets, and it was here that the name as well as the popular rhyme emerged, as the sellers would shout out ” One-a-penny, two-a-penny, hot cross buns “… This tradition was still in practice as little as eighty years ago.

Pull out all the stops this Easter Holiday with this majestic centerpiece, fit for kings! It is made by attaching two racks of lamb end-to-end to form a crown. Order it from your butcher with the ribs already French-trimmed and tied into a crown, or do it yourself at home – it is easier than you think!

“It’s the best damn gin on the planet”, according to Ryan Reynolds, actor, writer and producer. Reynolds, who tasted Aviation Gin for the 1st time in 2017, liked it so much that he recently acquired an ownership interest in Aviation Gin, an American craft gin company. Reynolds will not only be the face of the brand, he will also be involved in the entire creative process for Aviation Gin, including its marketing and strategy.

With less than 7 weeks until Christmas, the countdown has officially begun and it will be here before you know it! The aim of this newsletter is to provide you with everything you need to prepare for your Festive Season entertaining – at least on the ingredient, entertainment and gifting front! It is jam-packed with everything from the latest festivals to attend and restaurants to visit, to ingredients to try and gifts to buy. I have also included a variety of mouthwatering recipes for everything from starters and mains, to side dishes, desserts and drinks. Continue reading December 2017 Newsletter

The gin revolution is a world-wide phenomenon. One of the biggest drivers in the incredible resurgence of gin over the past few years is the sheer number of craft gin distillers that have popped up. South Africa is following suit with a growing number of craft distilleries opening their doors every other month. No wonder as South Africa provides the natural raw ingredients which allows distillers to produce world-class gins. South Africans are celebrating the revival of gin in everything from festivals, to craft gin clubs to craft gin loyalty cards at liquor stores. Not to mention cocktail bars whose main focus is gin and tonic. I think it is safe to say that gin is here to stay! Continue reading The Gin Revolution

It was the interest in local craft gin amongst South African consumers and spirit traders alike, as well as the versatility of gin as a spirit that lead to the idea to build a lifestyle festival around it. With four successful festivals under their belts, the organisers of the Gin & Tonic Festival continue to provide an unrivaled gin experience. Continue reading Gin & Tonic Festival – JHB

The Gin Box is South Africa’s first craft gin club. According to Jean Buckham, owner and founder of The Gin Box, South Africa is experiencing a gin revolution at present. “South Africa is producing world class gins – thanks to the bravery and innovation of the local distillers but also thanks to the abundance of cape fynbos botanicals – including rooibos, and Highveld bush botanicals which are adding a whole new flavour spectrum to South African gin. Through The Gin Box we hope to inform gin enthusiasts about which are the best gins to purchase, what to drink them with and how to build up a gin collection, i.e. a few good gins to offer guests with paired tonic waters and garnishes”, says Jean. Continue reading The Gin Box